H.S. boys swimming: Demarest wins second straight sectional crown

WAYNE – Top-seeded Demarest won its second straight state swimming sectional title Saturday, defeating second-seeded Northern Highlands, 106-64, in the North 1B final at the Passaic County Tech pool.

Luke Rutigliano, Karl Sarier, Johnny Kilduff and Andrew Ro all contributed to the Norsemen's dominant effort with at least one first-place finish.

Rutigliano won the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 backstroke. Sarier won the 200 and 500 freestyles, Kilduff won the 100 freestyle, and Ro won the 200 individual medley.

Rutigliano's monster day was a surprise, as he posted his best-ever time in the 50 freestyle, 22.92, by almost a full second.

More impressively, he beat Kilduff in the 100 backstroke. It was an upset, because Kilduff is among North Jersey's top backstroke swimmers.

Coach Jeff Krapels had the best line after the race.

"When you're the fastest backstroker, people want to beat you," he said to Kilduff.

"We were looking forward to this meet for a while, so we've had plenty of time to get ready for it," Rutigliano said.

"My times have improved through tapering, and I got a good night's sleep. Even though the snow has been a real pain in messing up the schedule, it's helped me get rested."

This year's victory was different for Demarest. It's the first time the Norsemen have won a sectional title without former coach Mike Ives, who resigned after last season.

Demarest headed into the season with some uncertainty, but with this victory Krapels has allayed those concerns.

It was an emotional, yet familiar victory for Krapels, Ives' former assistant.

"It feels really good. It's not much different than last year; it felt just as good. Everything I learned, Ives taught me. We didn't need any radical changes, so why fix what's not broken?" Krapels said.

Rutigliano said the transition between coaches couldn't have been smoother.

"Everything's really the same. It was the best-case scenario for us, to not really notice the change. I don't know if we'd be as successful if Krapels didn't do things [the way] he did this year," Rutigliano said.

Demarest's next state tournament challenge is against South B champion Moorestown at The College of New Jersey in Ewing later this week.